It's fine by me : a novel

Audun is the only one of his family who remains with his mother in working-class Oslo. He delivers newspapers when he is not in school and talks for hours about Jack London and Ernest Hemingway with his best friend - but there are some things Audun won't talk about. Stories about his family, the weeks he spent living in a couple of cardboard boxes, and the day of his little brother's birth, when his drunken father fired three shots into the ceiling. A beautiful and disquieting coming-of-age story from the winner of the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. On His First Day Of School, A Teacher Welcomes Audun To The Class By Asking Him To Describe His Former Life In The Country. But There Are Stories About His Family He Would Prefer To Keep To Himself, Such As The Weeks He Spent Living In A Couple Of Cardboard Boxes, And The Day Of His Little Brother's Birth, When His Drunken Father Fired Three Shots Into The Ceiling. So He Refuses To Talk And Refuses To Take Off His Sunglasses. In His Late Teens Audun Is The Only One Of His Family Who Remains With His Mother In Their Home In A Working-class District Of Oslo. He Delivers Newspapers When He Is Not In School And Talks For Hours About Jack London And Ernest Hemingway With His Best Friend Arvid. But He's Not Sure That School Is The Right Path For Him, Feeling That Life Holds Other Possibilities. Sometimes Tender, Sometimes Brutal, It's Fine By Me Is A Brilliant Novel From The Acclaimed Author Of Out Stealing Horses. "Reading a Petterson novel is like falling into a northern landscape painting-all shafts of light and clear palpable chill."--TimeFans of Per Petterson's other books in English will be delighted by this opportunity to observe Arvid Jansen in his youth from a fresh perspective. In It's Fine By Me, Arvid befriends a boy named Audun. On Audun's first day of school he refuses to talk or take off his sunglasses; there are stories he would prefer to keep to himself. Audun lives with his mother in a working-class district of Oslo. He delivers newspapers and talks for hours about Jack London and Ernest Hemingway with Arvid. But he's not sure that school is the right path for him and feels that life holds other possibilities. Sometimes tender, sometimes brutal, It's Fine By Me is a brilliant novel from the acclaimed author of Out Stealing Horses and I Curse the River of Time